South Korea’s Korea Exchange (KRX) has postponed the rollout of weekly single-stock options that were supposed to go live on June 29. The reason is straightforward: markets have been too chaotic for regulators to feel comfortable adding another accelerant to the fire.
The products, which would have covered Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, and LG Energy Solution, were announced on June 1. Less than a month later, the plan is on ice, a casualty of the kind of volatility that makes financial watchdogs lose sleep.
What happened to Korean markets
The KOSPI index dropped roughly 10% during early to mid-June, a slide punctuated by multiple trading halts and aggressive sell-offs.
Foreign investors pulled approximately $13.2 billion from Korean equities in a single week during May.
